CASE Study: Minnesota Owner Makes $131,150 in 10 Months

Challenge: Help a first-time owner get her new vacation rental off to a profitable start.

Background

Tammy Geiken wasn’t looking for a vacation rental when she was browsing for her Minnesota lake house, but that’s exactly what she found.

The 5-bedroom cabin on Pelican Lake was beautifully furnished and incredibly spacious. It had room to accommodate large groups and lakefront access.

Tammy was intrigued by the property’s potential, but she had lingering concerns about taking on the sizable mortgage and property upkeep. She wanted some guidance before making the investment, so she met with local property managers to find out if she could generate enough rental income to make the investment work. Unfortunately, she learned that local advertising was their only method for generating bookings.

She knew that wouldn’t give her property the kind of exposure it needed to make her investment worth it.

But fortunately for Tammy, there was another option: Evolve.

“

It 's nice to know that I'm not doing it alone. With Evolve, I have a second set of eyes, a second set of opinions every step of the way."

“

Our bookings are covering all of the costs for the cabin - all of the repairs, everything. It’s paying for itself, and we are hoping to even make a little profit this year, which is awesome for the first year in!”

Solution

Before buying the cabin, Tammy spoke with Evolve to get an idea of the property’s income potential. She appreciated that Evolve’s Revenue Management team was able to provide a custom report on the income she could expect from a 5-bedroom property in the area.

Tammy felt confident working with Evolve because we create custom listings that appeal to travelers. We distribute those listings on top sites like VRBO and Airbnb. And we have a team of Travel Advisors working 7 days a week to answer guest inquiries and secure bookings. We do all of this and much more for an industry-low fee of just 10%.

Performance

Time with Evolve

10 months

Nights Booked

174

Total Bookings

47

Rental Income

$131,150

Results

In the 10 months that Tammy has been with Evolve, she has far surpassed her original goal of booking 95 nights in a year. The cabin has booked an impressive 174 nights and earned over $130,000 in rental income to date. “For being our first time in, we feel very lucky that it’s going so well,” says Tammy.

She also says that having the ability to generate off-season bookings is really tipping the scales in their favor. With a dedicated team working to book her property year-round, Tammy doesn’t have to depend on the high-season to make her investment work.

Things are going so well that Tammy hopes to invest in a second vacation rental outside of Minnesota in the near future. With the right marketing and booking strategies to support her investment, we’re sure that wherever Tammy buys next, her vacation rental future will be just as bright.